Keep your child home if they have a fever, have vomited or had diarrhoea in the last day or two, have a rash you cannot explain, or are simply too unwell to take part in a normal day. Most preschools ask for a child to be fever-free for about 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine before returning, and for 48 hours after the last bout of vomiting or diarrhoea. The exact rules are set by each school, so the handbook of your campus is the final word.
Those rules can feel strict when you have a meeting at nine and a child who seems fine after breakfast. They exist because preschool classrooms are close-contact places where toddlers share toys, hands and sometimes cups, and because a child who is unwell needs rest more than activities. This guide explains the logic behind common sick-day rules, gives a symptom-by-symptom table, walks through the borderline mornings and suggests how families without nearby relatives can plan for the days when someone has to stay home.
Why preschools send children home: two separate reasons
Sick-day rules mix two different goals, and seeing them separately makes the rules easier to accept. The first goal is protecting the group. Young children are still building immunity, they touch their faces constantly and they cannot reliably wash hands or cover coughs. An infection that passes quietly through a family of adults can move through a class of two-year-olds within a week. Rules about vomiting, diarrhoea, some rashes and eye infections are mostly about this.
The second goal is the comfort of your own child. A child with a raised temperature, a heavy cold or a painful ear may not be very contagious, but they will struggle through a day built around play, songs, outdoor time and group meals. Teachers looking after a full class cannot give one feverish child the quiet, one-to-one care they would get at home. A rule such as “children must be well enough to join in the day’s activities” is about this second goal.
Keeping the two apart also helps with conversations. If a teacher calls to say your child is flat and tearful but has no fever, they are usually talking about the second goal, and the question is whether your child can cope. If they mention a fever, vomiting or a new rash, the first goal comes into play and the school will usually follow its written rules regardless of how cheerful the child looks. Neither call is a judgement on your parenting; it is the same rule applied to every family in the class.
Common symptoms and how preschools usually treat them
The table below reflects patterns found in many preschool policies and in public health guidance for childcare settings in several countries. It is a starting point for understanding your school’s rules, not a substitute for them or for a doctor’s advice about your child.
| Symptom | Typical school approach | The reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Fever (often 38°C or higher) | Home; return after roughly 24 hours without fever and without fever-reducing medicine | Fever often marks the most infectious phase; medicine can hide a fever that returns by midday |
| Vomiting or diarrhoea | Home; return about 48 hours after the last episode | Stomach viruses spread easily through hands and surfaces and can still be passed on after symptoms stop |
| Unexplained rash, especially with fever | Home until seen by a doctor | Some rashes are harmless, others signal infections that need a diagnosis before mixing with other children |
| Red, sticky eyes | Varies widely; some schools ask for a doctor visit or treatment first | Public health guidance differs by country, so schools set their own line |
| Mouth ulcers with spots on hands or feet | Home; follow the school and doctor on when to return | Can be hand, foot and mouth disease, which is common in Vietnamese preschools |
| Runny nose or mild cough, child otherwise well | Usually allowed to attend | Colds are so common in young children that excluding them would empty classrooms |
| Head lice | Often allowed back once treatment has started | Lice are a nuisance rather than a health risk |
Notice that a mild cold usually does not count. Toddlers in group care can catch several colds a year, and a constant runny nose in the first months of preschool is normal. What changes the picture is fever, a child who is unusually sleepy or miserable, or breathing that looks fast or effortful.
The borderline mornings: how to decide
“The fever went down after medicine last night.” This is the most common grey area. If your child needed medicine to bring a fever down in the last day, most schools count that as still having a fever. A dose before school can mask the temperature until it wears off, and the child often ends up being collected at lunchtime, having been uncomfortable all morning.
“They vomited once, but it might have been the coughing.” A single episode clearly triggered by coughing or gagging on food is different from a stomach bug. If you are unsure and your child is otherwise lively, eating and drinking normally, tell the teacher exactly what happened and let them decide with you. Hiding it puts the teacher in a difficult position if it happens again in class.
“There is a rash but no fever.” Many childhood rashes are harmless, such as heat rash in a humid city like Saigon. A rash with fever, a rash that does not fade when you press a clear glass on it, blisters, or spots in the mouth and on hands and feet all need a doctor before school.
“They seem fine, just tired.” Ask yourself whether your child could manage a normal day: morning play, outdoor time, a meal with others, a nap in a room full of children. If the honest answer is no, a home day is kinder, even without a clear symptom.
When the school calls you to collect your child
Sooner or later the phone rings mid-morning. The teacher or school health staff will usually say what they noticed, often a temperature reading and the time it was taken, and ask you to come. Most schools move an unwell child to a quieter space, such as the medical room or a corner away from the group, where an adult stays with them until you arrive. Asking where your child is waiting and who is with them is a fair question on that call.
Ask for the facts you will need later: the temperature and when it was measured, whether your child has eaten, drunk or vomited, and whether any medicine was given. Schools in Vietnam generally do not give medicine without written permission from parents, so if a fever-reducing medicine was given, it should have been under an arrangement you agreed to in advance. Write the answers down in your phone, because a doctor will ask the same questions.
If you cannot get there quickly, say so honestly and give a realistic time. Rush-hour traffic in Ho Chi Minh City can turn a short distance into a long trip, and a teacher who knows you are forty minutes away can plan for that. If someone else will collect, make sure they are on the school’s list of authorised adults and carry identification, since well-run schools will not hand a child to an unknown person even in an emergency.
Once home, the decision about seeing a doctor is yours. A child who was simply tired and warm may recover with rest, while a high fever, a rash or a child who is unusually listless needs a medical opinion the same day.
A five-minute routine for sick-day mornings
A fixed routine stops the decision from turning into a rushed negotiation at the door. Many parents find it easier to agree on this in advance with their partner.
- Take a temperature with a reliable thermometer before breakfast, not after a hot bath or a run around the apartment, and write it down with the time.
- Check the basics: has your child eaten, drunk and passed urine normally, and is their energy close to usual?
- Look at skin, eyes and mouth in good light, especially if other children in the class have been ill.
- Compare what you see with the school handbook rather than with what you remember from another country or another school.
- If you keep your child home, tell the school early and say why. If there is a diagnosis later, share it, because the school may need to watch for the same illness in other children.
- If you send your child in after a borderline night, mention it at drop-off and make sure you or another adult can come quickly if the teacher calls.
Write down the symptoms and times even on days when you decide to go to school. If your child is collected later or a doctor is needed, that short record is far more useful than memory.
Planning for sick days when family is far away
In Vietnam many families lean on grandparents for sick days. International families often do not have that option, and the first winter of preschool infections can arrive just as both parents are settling into new jobs. It helps to plan for it before the first fever rather than during it.
Start by talking with both employers about what happens when a child is sent home. Some workplaces in Ho Chi Minh City are flexible about working from home for a day, others are not, and knowing which parent can leave at short notice prevents arguments at eleven in the morning. Some families split the year: one parent covers the first sick day, the other covers the second.
If you use a nanny or housekeeper, decide in advance whether they will look after a sick child and what they should do if symptoms get worse. Leave written notes on temperature, fluids and when to call you, and make sure they know how to reach a doctor in an emergency. Expect more sick days in the first six months of preschool than later. Many parents report that the pace of infections slows noticeably in the second year, as children build up immunity to common viruses.
Questions to ask your preschool about its illness policy
The time to ask is before enrolment or during the first week, not on the morning of the first fever. A clear written policy is a sign that the school applies its rules consistently to every family.
- What temperature counts as a fever here, and how is it measured at school?
- How long must a child be free of fever, vomiting or diarrhoea before returning?
- Do you need a doctor’s note to return after certain illnesses, and in which language?
- How will you contact me if my child becomes unwell, and how quickly do you expect collection?
- Where does a child who is unwell wait until a parent arrives, and who stays with them?
- Will you tell parents when a contagious illness appears in the class, and how?
- Do sick days affect fees or make-up days, according to your published terms?
Keep the answers somewhere both parents can find them. If your school publishes the policy in Vietnamese only, ask the office whether an English summary exists, or have it translated so there is no misunderstanding on a stressful day.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Can I give my child fever medicine and send them to preschool?
Most preschools ask parents not to do this. Medicine can lower a temperature for several hours while the illness is still active, so the child often becomes unwell again at school. Many policies require a full day without fever and without fever-reducing medicine before returning.
Is a runny nose a reason to stay home?
Usually not, if your child is otherwise well, eating, playing and sleeping normally. Colds are very common in young children in group care. A runny nose with fever, a child who is unusually sleepy, or breathing that looks hard work are reasons to stay home and talk to a doctor.
Why does the school want 48 hours after vomiting or diarrhoea?
Stomach viruses spread through tiny amounts on hands and surfaces and can still be passed on for a while after the last episode. A two-day gap is a common public health recommendation for childcare settings because it reduces the chance of an outbreak moving through the whole class.
Will the school tell me if another child in the class is sick?
Many schools notify parents when a contagious illness such as hand, foot and mouth disease or chickenpox appears in a class, without naming the child. Ask your campus how it shares this, for example through the parent app or a note, so you know what to watch for.
What should I do if my child gets ill while I am at work across the city?
Agree in advance who will collect and how quickly, because traffic in Ho Chi Minh City can make a short distance take a long time. Make sure the school has up-to-date numbers for both parents and any other authorised adult, and tell them if you will be unreachable during a flight or meeting.
My child seems to be sick every other week since starting preschool. Is that normal?
Frequent mild infections in the first months of group care are very common, especially for children who have not been in nursery before or who moved from a different climate. If illnesses are severe, very frequent or your child is not growing well, ask a doctor to review them rather than assuming it is just preschool.